Being that Quentin Tarantino is a director I love (along with many others—too many to name), it’s hardly a surprise that I consider this film to be completely awesome.

Based on the novel Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard (which I read long before the film came out), I was concerned about the adaptation. Well, if anyone was fit to make a movie based on an Elmore Leonard book, it was definitely Tarantino.

The awesome (and totally kickass) Pam Grier plays the title character, a flight attendant working for a shitty small Mexican airline. Her side gig is to smuggle money into the US for Ordell Robbie (played like a bad mofo by Samuel L. Jackson). After the ATF puts the squeeze on one of Robbie’s couriers, Jackie ends up in the clink after being caught with the money and (unbeknownst to her) cocaine. Unfortunately for the courier, Robbie “takes care” of him, in the manner of Jules in Pulp Fiction.

Then there is our hero—Max Cherry, bail bondsman (played stolidly by Robert Forster), who springs Jackie from jail. Robbie is understandably as worried about Jackie spilling the beans as he was about the courier.

Does Jackie take this lying down? Of course not!

That, people, is one of the single best scenes in the film. And the fun just begins there.

In the interest of not telling all, let’s just say that Robbie’s plans involve an ex-con (played by Robert De Niro) and various women he has stashed around LA (including surfer girl Melanie, played by Bridget Fonda), both of whom are incredible fuck-ups idiots.

As for Jackie, she has plans of her own.

One of the coolest things about the film is the music soundtrack. If you dig The Delfonics and the tune, “Across 110th Street”, you’re in for a treat.

Little wonder Empire magazine ranked this film #215 in The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.

4 Responses to My Review of ‘Jackie Brown’ (1997)

I liked Jackie Brown an awful lot. It was a quieter film for QT, imo. The cast was excellent! The thing I like the best about Quentin is he finds actors who are not necessarily working or have been out of the spotlight for a bit and then he turns them into forces to be reckoned with. This happened with Forster and Grier. Good review, Debbi.